An online version of the Mooney Face Test: phenotypic and genetic associations

Neuropsychologia. 2014 Oct:63:19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.011. Epub 2014 Aug 17.

Abstract

The Mooney Face Test is a widely used test of face perception, but was originally designed to be administered by personal interview. We have developed a three-alternative forced-choice version for online testing. We tested 397 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 42 (M=24 years). There was a wide range of performance (64-100% correct; M=89.6%). We observed a significant sex difference favoring males (.31 standard deviation; p =.004). In addition, independently of sex, higher 2D:4D digit ratios were significantly associated with higher scores (ρ=.14, p=.006). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) for a subset of 370 participants identified an association between Mooney performance and a polymorphism in the RAPGEF5 gene (rs1522280; p=9.68×10(-8)). This association survives a permutation test (p=.031).

Keywords: Closure; Face perception; Genome-wide association study (GWAS); Gestalt perception; Individual differences; Mooney Face Test; RAPGEF5; rs1522280.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Choice Behavior
  • Data Collection / methods
  • Face
  • Female
  • Fingers / anatomy & histology
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Male
  • Perceptual Closure / physiology*
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Sex Factors
  • Young Adult
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / genetics

Substances

  • RAPGEF5 protein, human
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors